Page 64

Louisiana Medicaid Eligibility Manual Eligibility Factors

Reissued June 9, 2026

Page 64 of I-1630 Replacing September 23, 2024

Revised/added text indicated by underscore

Deleted text indicated by “**”

If an applicant/beneficiary is not eligible for periodic payments but has the option of withdrawing the funds, count the retirement fund as a resource.

Note: If application for periodic payments is denied, count the value of the retirement funds as a resource effective the month following the month of the denial notice.

If an employed applicant/beneficiary must terminate employment in order to file for a retirement fund, do not count the fund as a resource.

IRAs

Money put into an IRA can usually be withdrawn regardless of whether or not the individual is working. Count funds in an IRA as a countable resource.

When retirement funds are an available/countable resource, use the following information to determine the countable value of the retirement fund:

• If there is a penalty assessed for early withdrawal, count the amount available after the penalty is deducted.

• If there are taxes owed on the funds, count the amount before taxes are deducted.

• If the actual withdrawal is delayed for reasons beyond the control of the applicant/beneficiary, count the value as a resource effective the first month the funds were actually available, even though the funds are not actually received until a later month.

Exclude retirement funds held separately by an ineligible spouse in determining total countable assets for a couple in the SSI related deeming process only.

Count retirement funds owned separately by the community spouse in the LTC determination of combined countable couple assets or spousal income assignment, depending on availability of fund balance.